Hydrothermal Processes, Yellowstone Magma Chamber

Full Title: Hydrothermal Processes above the Yellowstone Magma Chamber: Large Hydrothermal Systems and Large Hydrothermal Explosions

Authors: Lisa A. Morgan, W.C. Pat Shanks, III, and Kenneth L. Pierce

Description:

Home to more than 10,000 thermal features, Yellowstone has experienced over 20 large hydrothermal explosions producing craters from 100 to >2500 meters in diameter during the past 16,000 years. Using new mapping, sampling, and analysis techniques, this volume documents a broad spectrum of ages and geologic settings for these events and considers additional processes and alternative triggering mechanisms that have not been explored in previous studies. Although large hydrothermal explosions are rare on the human time scale, the potential for future explosions in Yellowstone is not insignificant, and events large enough to create a 100-m-wide crater might be expected every 200 years. This work presents information useful for determining the timing, distribution, and possible causes of these events in Yellowstone, which will aid in the planning of monitoring strategies and the anticipation of hydrothermal explosions.